Infusing apparatus and process and method for using the same

ABSTRACT

An infusing apparatus and method for using the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a portable device for infusing a liquid with flavor from material, where the device comprises: a liquid container to store a liquid; a brew chamber to hold the material; and a pump to generate a pressure differential over tunnels within the material and over the brew chamber.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of and claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/900,285, filed on Sep. 13,2019 and entitled “RECIRCULATION BREWING”, and is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are related to creating beveragesby infusion; more particularly, embodiments of the present invention arerelated to creating beverages via infusion through the use ofdifferential pressure.

BACKGROUND

People have been infusing liquids such as water and oils for years toadd flavor from materials such as dried plant material to the liquid.One common type of infusion process is a brewing process that uses driedplant materials such as coffee and tea to create a beverage.

Brewing beverages such as coffee has been performed for generations. Thegoal of brewing processes has been to obtain the highest quality brew byinfusing water with coffee flavor from coffee grinds. While the last fewdecades have seen substantially activity in new coffee brewingtechniques, not one significant new brewing/infusing process hasemerged.

Today, consumers want coffee that is rich in flavor. However, theprocess typically used to make coffee involves the use of heat. Usingheat in the brewing process enables the coffee to be made quickly.However, when heat is required in the brewing process, there are someundesirable consequences. First, using heat as part of the brewingprocess causes the extraction undesirable compounds (e.g., acidity) fromthe coffee grounds. Second, the use of heat as part of the brewingprocess destroys aroma. It would be desirable to make coffee that isrich in flavor using a brewing process with the advantages of using heatso that coffee is made quickly, while avoiding the extraction of theundesirable compounds that result from the use of heat in the brewingprocess.

The “cold brewing” of coffee has also been practiced for many years. Thetypical process involves the soaking and or brewing, or infusing, ofcoffee with room temperature water in a vessel for a long period oftime. The normal amount of time is usually 12 to 24 hours. This processis considered by many as a very good extraction method, but the processtakes too much time for the typical consumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An infusing device and method for using the same are described. In oneembodiment, the infusing device infuses flavor into a liquid. Theinfusing device may be used to create different beverages, such as, forexample, but not limited to, coffee and tea.

An infusing apparatus and method for using the same are disclosed. Inone embodiment, the apparatus comprises a portable device for infusing aliquid with flavor from material, where the device comprises: a liquidcontainer to store a liquid; a brew chamber to hold the material; and apump to generate a pressure differential over tunnels within thematerial and over the brew chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood more fully from the detaileddescription given below and from the accompanying drawings of variousembodiments of the invention, which, however, should not be taken tolimit the invention to the specific embodiments, but are for explanationand understanding only.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary illustration of a tunnel in an infusing material.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an infusing device.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of an infusing process.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another embodiment of an infusing device.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of an infusing process.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of yet another embodiment of an infusingdevice.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an infusing device thatinfuses a liquid via a pressure differential created by swinging liquidwith an infusing material between two pressures (e.g., atmosphericpressure and vacuum pressure).

FIG. 8 is an example of a flask that includes the infusing apparatusesdisclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth to providea more thorough explanation of the present invention. It will beapparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present inventionmay be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form,rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the presentinvention.

A method of transferring “flavor” (e.g., a mass of molecules that can bedetected on an average person's tongue or consumable particles whichhave taste) via infusion from one solute to another and an apparatus fordoing the same are described. The infusion process may be part of aprocess for brewing beverages. In one embodiment, the beverage is coffeeor tea. However, the process is not limited to the making of coffee ortea, and may be used to with other infusion-compatible materials. Forexample, the process may be used to infuse other materials (e.g., lemonzest, one or more spices, one or more plant materials, non-plant-basedmaterials (e.g., mineral, synthetic material, a mixture, a powder,creamer (e.g., dairy, non-dairy, etc.), dissolvable substances, etc.)into water, oil, alcohol, or some other liquid or solution.

In one embodiment, the infusion process is temperature agnostic and thusdoes not rely on temperature changes, particularly a temperature changethat is made in a significant and intentional fashion for infusion.Therefore, the liquid may be at room or ambient temperature when thebrewing process starts. In one embodiment, the liquid is very cold atthe start of the brewing process. Using very cold water (e.g., less than35° F.) at the start of the brew process often results in a morepleasant beverage when the process is used for brewing coffee.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, the infusion process relies onpressurization and a vacuum used in a repeated fashion with theintention to produce a transfer of flavor. In other words, while priorart techniques use heat or pressure or vacuum once, in one embodiment,the infusion process described herein does not change or usemanipulation temperature (apart from an unintentional result of theprocess) and uses pressure changes repeatedly (i.e., a repeated use ofpressure) to transfer flavor.

In one embodiment, the use of pressure comprises setting up a pressuredifferential across both a brewing chamber and across each tunnel (pore)in each piece of infusion material (e.g., across each piece of plantmaterial (e.g., coffee ground, across each tea leaf, etc.)) andrepeatedly applying the pressure differential to the infusion material.In one embodiment, the pressure differential is created by forcing theliquid (e.g., water) being infused through the tunnels (pores) in thematerial. These tunnels affect the movement of this liquid. In oneembodiment, when the infusion material is within a pod that is placedinto a brewing chamber, using the techniques disclosed herein a pressuredifferential is created across each tunnel in each piece of infusionmaterial and across the pod from the inlet of the brew chamber to anoutlet of the brew chamber.

In one embodiment, the infusion or brewing process described herein usesa portable device (e.g., a portable battery-operated device) to create apressure differential in a vacuum to move a liquid through tunnels ininfusion material in multiple cycles without the need for heat.

Note that in one embodiment, a change the temperature of the solution orother particles may be incorporated in the process of creating abeverage as part of post- or pre-brewing, but this would not be tointentionally cause a change in flavor at the time the change intemperature occurs. For example, after using a cold brew processdisclosed herein, the resulting infused beverage may be heated to atemperature more desirable for drinking based on individual preference.

In one embodiment, heat is added to the brewing process to enhanceflavor extraction. In one embodiment, heat is an adjustable parameterthat is controlled during the brewing/infusing process to enhance flavorextraction.

Tunnels (Pores)

As discussed above, in one embodiment, the flavor extraction processuses a maze of hollow tunnels in the infusion material used for infusinga solution (e.g., water) by passing the solution through the tunnelsusing a pressure differential. In one embodiment, the solution is pushedthrough the infusion material. In another embodiment, the solution ispulled through the infusion material. More specifically, when thesolution builds up enough pressure, it is able to enter into the tunnelsand thus gather more of the flavor, which is carried out either byreversing the process (pressurize, and then vacuum). The pressure buildsup until the solution finally makes it through the material, therebycarrying a large amount of flavor from the material.

In terms of a material such as coffee, when pushing through the tunnelsin a granule of coffee, if the pressure from one side of the granule tothe opposite side is larger enough to break the surface tension of theliquid, then flow through the interior occurs and allows the transfer offlavor. In this way, the process disclosed herein replaces heat as amajor method of reducing surface tension. In one embodiment, the amountof pressure differential is only be a few PSI difference to cause thetransfer of flavor. In one embodiment, the range of pressure is from 5to 25 PSI. This can be shown with a simple mathematical model. Thepressure differential from one side of a morsel of material (e.g., plantmaterial like, for example, coffee ground, tea leaf, etc.) overcomes thesurface tension of water and allows the water to penetrate, therebyextracting soluble solids (e.g., flavor, nutrient, etc.). Thus, theprocess obtains a pressure differential for use in infusing a solutionwith flavor.

In the case of brewing coffee, the coffee is brewed is an infusionprocess that uses a pressure differential for multiple cycles whilebeing temperature agnostic. Example embodiments of a process and devicefor brewing coffee using the techniques disclosed herein are describedin more detail below.

In one embodiment, the brewing device is designed to serve the outputfrom the brewing chamber directly without dilution. An example of thisis described in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 6. In anotherembodiment, the output of the brewing chamber is diluted into a volumeof water or a liquid containing the outputs of one or more previous brewcycles.

A number of brewing cycles were compared for coffee strength (TDS) wherethe brewing cycles differed as batch, continuous, duty cycle, and brewduration. In one embodiment, the brew duration is the length of time theliquid is forced through the infusion material. In one embodiment, thisis the same as the amount of time a pump is on that forces the liquidthrough the infusion material. In one embodiment, a particular recipemay specify that the total amount of time the pump is going to be onover the entire brewing cycle is the brew duration. The duty cyclerefers to the ratio of the amount of time that brewing is undergoingwith the pump being on, and the pressure differential being applied, tothe overall brew duration. In one embodiment, the length of the brewcycle is 30 seconds to a one minute. However, the length of brewingcycle may be shorter or longer than that amount of time. With all otherparameters kept the same (weights of water and coffee grounds,temperature, pressure, coffee grind level), the coffee strength wasremarkably consistent. For example, in one test of brewing coffee(medium grind Lavazza Classico coffee, 20 grams tamped, and 180 ml ofwater at room temperature), the brew had a TDS of 2.0-2.2 for 6-minutebrews and 2.2-2.4 for 12-minute brews. By most standards, this is strongcoffee.

Mathematical Model for Brewing

In the brewing process described herein, pressure of a solution to beinfused (e.g., water pressure, etc.) provides a force to overcome thesurface tension of the solution in order for solution to penetrate, flowthrough the tunnels in the infusing material (e.g., coffee grounds,etc.) and extract flavor. But pressure alone isn't enough, theembodiments described herein provide a pressure gradient or pressuredifferential from the input side of the infusing material to the outputside. The pressure differential from one side of a morsel of infusingmaterial (e.g., coffee ground, tea leaf, etc.) to the other sideovercomes the surface tension of solution (e.g., water), therebyallowing the solution to penetrate via tunnels and extract extractingsoluble solids (flavor, nutrient, etc.).

These tunnels or pores represent channels through the infusing material(e.g., coffee grain cells). FIG. 1 shows the forces acting on the waterthat flows through the tunnel, where the surface tension T_(s) opposesthe flow (little arrows) and pressure P points inward on both sides ofthe tunnel (longer arrows). If the pressure from the left is larger thanthe pressure from the right, which is required for flow to occur fromleft to right, then the resulting force is

F _(pressure) =P(left)×area−P(right)×area=dP/dx×area×length

where dP/dx is the derivative or differential pressure, area is π², andthe length is the diameter of the ground (l in FIG. 1, and r is thetunnel radius in FIG. 1). This resulting force has to exceed the forcedue to surface tension, T_(s), which is

F _(surface) =T _(s)×circumference of tunnel entrance.

The circumference is 2πr. Again, the pressure differential force must belarger than the force of surface tension to give the relation forfurther consideration, which becomes

dP/dx>(2 T _(s))/(rl)

When brewing coffee, roasted and ground coffee beans have certaincellular properties that includes tunnels. The cells form tunnels whenroasted and allow water to penetrate the coffee ground. For example, seewww.coffeeiq.co/en/grinding-particle-size-and-extraction. Some coffeegrounds have tunnels with diameters of 50-80 microns, while others havetunnels with diameters of 20-40 microns. Also, the coffee grounddiameter depends on the grind, but typically around 600 microns forfilter coffee and 300 microns for espresso coffee.

The surface tension of water as the solution is dependent ontemperature. For example, for cold brew, the value of the surfacetension is around 0.070 Nt/m or 70 mN/m.

The pressure differential may be calculated and compared. Using the brewprocess described herein, in one embodiment, the brewing chamber createsa pressure differential of 1.2 atm/cm for filter coffee and 2.3 atm/cmfor espresso coffee. If the brewing chamber is 2.5 cm deep, the pressuredifferential would require 3 atm or 42 psi to brew with filter coffeeand 5.8 atm or 80 psi for espresso grind. Thus, the size of the groundaffects surface tension and the brew process. In one embodiment,pressure ranges from 5 to 25 PSI are used for the brewing process.

Thus, while the numbers presented above are estimates, it is importantto note the relationships that water or other liquid to be infused isallowed to penetrate coffee grounds and extract flavor. Heat is notnecessary and reasonable pressures can compensate for lower temperatureto get the same extraction.

Another factor that influences the amount of extraction besides size ofthe material (e.g., ground size) and volume is the temperature of thesolution at the start of the brew cycle. In one embodiment, super coldwater (or other solution) made for an improved coffee flavor. In oneembodiment, the brewing process is started with water having atemperature less than the typical room temperature (e.g., less than 35°F.) and the resulting coffee is considered by some to be appreciablybetter.

In one embodiment, the brewing process is performed using a portablebrewing device. In one embodiment, the portable brewing device infuses aliquid with flavor from an infusing material (e.g., plant material suchas, for example, but not limited to, coffee grounds, tea leaves, etc.)using: a liquid container to store a liquid; a brew chamber to hold theinfusing material (e.g., plant material (e.g., coffee grounds, tealeaves, spices, etc.); and a pump to generate a pressure differentialover tunnels within the infusing material and over the brew chamber byforcing the liquid through the chamber each cycle of a plurality ofcycles to cause extraction of the flavor into the liquid. In oneembodiment, the extraction is performed without the need for heat.

In one embodiment, the portable brewing device includes portable powersource (e.g., a rechargeable battery) (not shown to avoid obscuring thepresent invention) coupled to provide power to components of theportable brewing device, such as, for example, the pump, controller,communication interfaces, sensors, etc.

In one embodiment, the liquid comprises water. In one embodiment, theinfusion material comprises plant material. In one embodiment, the plantmaterial starts as dried plant material, but as subsequent brewingcycles are performed, the plant material is wet as a result of theliquid being forced over the plant material. In one embodiment, thedried plant material comprises coffee. In another embodiment, the driedplant material comprises tea leaves.

In one embodiment, the portable brewing device comprises a heater toheat the liquid in the chamber. In one embodiment, the heating isperformed after the brewing process in order to adjust the temperatureof the infused liquid. The adjustment may be made to bring temperatureof the infused liquid to a temperature more suitable or desirable forconsumption. In such a case, the heating for this purpose is not anagent of the brewing process. In another embodiment, the heating isperformed to enhance the extraction caused by application of thepressure differential.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a brewing device for infusing a liquid witha material (e.g., plant-based material, etc.). Referring to FIG. 2,brewing device 201 comprises a liquid container 201 that is initiallyfilled with water or some other solution (e.g., oil, etc.). Liquidcontainer 201 is coupled to brew chamber 204. In one embodiment, liquidcontainer 201 is coupled to brew chamber 204 via injection valve 207. Inone embodiment, a screen filter 206 is between liquid container 201 andbrew chamber 204 to filter liquid coming from liquid container 201 priorto its entry into brew chamber 204. Screen filter 206 prevents infusingmaterial 210 from expanding upwards as they bloom, maintaining thenecessary constriction against the flow of water.

Infusing material 210 is placed or held in brew chamber 204. In oneembodiment, infusing material 210 is contained within a pod or similarstructure that is place and otherwise contained in brewing chamber 204.In one embodiment, infusing material 210 comprises plant material, suchas, for example, but not limited to, coffee grinds, tea leaves, one ormore spices, etc. In another embodiment, infusing material 201 comprisesnon-plant material.

In-line pump 203 is coupled to the end of brew chamber 204. In-line pump203 forces the liquid from injection valve 207 into brew chamber 204that contains infusing material 210, and in the process causes thepressure differential described above, which in turn causes the liquidto flow through tunnels in the infusing material. In one embodiment, theoutput of brew chamber 104 is sent through in-line pump 203 and throughto an intake valve 202, via return line 211, into liquid container 201.Thus, the liquid is returned to liquid container 201 in an infusedstate. In one embodiment, a lid (not shown) on liquid container 201allows a user to drink from liquid container 201. In another embodiment,another output path is able to receive the infused liquid to provide theresults of the infusion process.

In one embodiment, a controller 220 is coupled to in-line pump 203 tocontrol the brewing process, including controlling when in-line pump 203is turned on and off as part of the infusing process. In one embodiment,when brewing device 200 starts a brew process to infuse a liquid,controller 220 starts in-line pump 203 and keeps it running for apredetermined amount of time. In one embodiment, controller 220determines this amount of time. The determination may be based on thetype of brew/infusion being performed, user input from a user of thedevice, and/or sensor information (e.g., temperature from sensor 208).In-line pump 203 sucks liquid from liquid chamber 201 through injectionvalve 207, and liquid from liquid chamber 201 is pumped by in-line pump203 into and through brew chamber 204. In-line pump 203 generates apressure differential across brew chamber 204 and forces water throughinfusing material 210 in brew chamber 204. This causes a cold breweffect to occur. In one embodiment, in-line pump 203 has 7 bar pumppressure to pressurize the liquid from liquid container 201 to cause theliquid to move under pressure to and through brewing chamber 204. Thatis, in-line pump 203 causes a pressure differential from the top ofbrewing chamber 204 to the bottom of brewing chamber 204 as well as overeach morsel of infusing material. Infused liquid passes from brewchamber 204 through intake valve 202 and back into liquid container 201,via return line 211, where it mixes with the rest of the water in liquidcontainer 201.

In one embodiment, the brew cycle is repeated multiple times, and eachtime in-line pump 203 forces liquid from liquid container 201 throughinfusing material 210 in brew chamber 204 for as long as in-line pump203 is running. Each cycle results in the liquid being infused furtherby infusing material 210. This cycling process may continue until adesired brew is achieved.

An input button 209 is also coupled to controller 220 to signal a startand/or stop to the brewing process being performed by brewing device 200under control of controller 220. Thus, brewing device 200 starts wheninput button 209 is pressed.

In one embodiment, brewing device 201 includes a temperature sensor 208that monitors the temperature of the liquid in liquid container 201 andprovides the temperature data to controller 220. This is optional and inone embodiment is used to enhance the extraction of flavor from theinfusing material 210. In one embodiment, sensor 208 senses temperatureand provides it to controller 220, which then scales the run time forin-line pump 203 (e.g., scales the brew cycle) based on sensed watertemperature.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a brewing process forinfusing a liquid with flavor from material using a portable device. Inone embodiment, the process is by a brewing device, such as, forexample, but not limited to, the brewing device of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, the process begins by storing a liquid in a liquidcontainer of the portable device (processing block 301). In oneembodiment, the liquid comprises water. Alternatively, the liquidcomprises an oil, alcohol, or any drinkable liquid.

In one embodiment, the process includes heating the liquid in the liquidcontainer to enhance the extraction process (that is caused byapplication of the pressure differential as discussed here) (processingblock 302).

An infusing material is held in a brew chamber (processing block 303).In one embodiment, the infusing material comprises plant material. Inone embodiment, the plant material comprises coffee. In one embodiment,the plant material comprises tea leaves.

With liquid in the liquid container and infusing material in the brewchamber, a pressure differential is generated over tunnels within theinfusing material and over the brew chamber by forcing the liquidthrough the chamber a plurality of cycles to cause extraction of theflavor into the liquid each cycle (processing block 304). In oneembodiment, the pressure differential is created in part using a pumpthat forces the liquid through the chamber. In one embodiment, the pumppulls the liquid through the brew chamber to cause extraction of theflavor into the liquid each cycle. In another embodiment, the pumppushes liquid through the brew chamber to cause extraction of the flavorinto the liquid each cycle. In one embodiment, the process includespowering the pump using a portable power source (e.g., a rechargeablebattery). In one embodiment, the extraction is performed without theneed for heat. In one embodiment, the extraction occurs in a vacuum.

In one embodiment, the process includes returning the liquid infusedduring each of the plurality of cycles to the liquid container via areturn line and an intake valve coupled to the liquid container(processing block 305). In one embodiment, the pump is in line betweenthe brew chamber and the return line.

At the point that the brew process has finished, in one embodiment, theinfused liquid may be heated (processing block 306). In one embodiment,this heating occurs to bring the infused liquid to a desired, preferred,or better drinking temperature. In one embodiment, temperature is raisedto 60° C. or a temperature near that temperature.

The remainder of the description will focus on one process for brewingof coffee. However, one skilled in the art would recognize that tea orother infusion-compatible materials could be substituted for coffee inthe description below.

An Example of a Coffee Brewing Process

In one embodiment, the brewing device brews coffee by forcing a liquid(e.g., water, coffee infused water) under pressure through a tightlypacked chamber of coffee grounds to cause extraction. The kinetic energyof the liquid moving under pressure through tunnels in each coffeeground causes the infusion of the liquid with coffee. That is, theliquid that is to be infused and moving under pressure causes pressureand experiences a pressure gradient across the tightly packed coffeegrounds (i.e., the pressure builds up within the mass of the coffeegrounds), which results in the infusion of the liquid with coffee. Inthis manner, the coffee brew results from an interaction betweenpressure energized water and packed coffee grounds.

In one embodiment, the brewing process obtains additional infusionthrough the use of recirculation in which the brewing process isrepeated with coffee-infused water as an input. The recirculationresults from performing one or more additional brewing cycles, whereeach brewing cycle involves turning on a pump to enable liquid to enterthe brewing chamber. The brewing cycles may be performed a number oftimes based on the desired infusion. In one embodiment, the brewingcycle may be performed 3 or 4 times, but is not limited to this number.For example, in the case of brewing tea, many more brewing cycles may beperformed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a brewing device that is used to performmultiple brewing cycles to create a beverage. Referring to FIG. 4,brewing device 401 comprises a liquid container 401 that is initiallyfilled with water, an injection valve 402 that feeds liquid from liquidcontainer 401 to a brew chamber 404, and an in-line pump 403 that causesliquid from injection valve 402 to proceed through screen filter 406 andand through brew chamber 404 that contains coffee pod 410. The output ofbrew chamber 104 goes through in-line pump 403 and back into liquidcontainer 401 via return line 411 and intake valve 402. Thus, the brewedcoffee is returned to liquid container 201. In one embodiment, a lid(not shown) on liquid container 401 allows a user to drink coffee fromliquid container 401.

More specifically, in-line pump 403 generates a pressure differentialacross brew chamber 404 and forces water through coffee grounds incoffee pod 410 in brew chamber 404. This causes a cold brew effect tooccur. In one embodiment, in-line pump 403 has 7 bar pump pressure topressurize the liquid from liquid container 401 to cause the liquid tomove under pressure to and through brewing chamber 404. That is, in-linepump 403 causes a pressure differential from the top of brewing chamber404 to the bottom of brew chamber 404 as well as over each coffeeground. Coffee-infused water passes from brew chamber 404 through intakevalve 402 and back into liquid container 401, via return line 411, whereit mixes with the rest of the water in liquid container 401.

In one embodiment, the brew cycle is repeated multiple times, and eachtime in-line pump 403 forces liquid from liquid container 401 throughcoffee grounds in coffee pod 410 in brew chamber 404 for as long asin-line pump 403 is running. Each cycle results in the liquid beinginfused further by the coffee grounds in coffee pod 210. This cyclingprocess may continue until a desired brew is achieved.

An input button 409 is also coupled to controller 420 to signal a startand/or stop to the brewing process being performed by brewing device 400under control of controller 420. Thus, brewing device 400 starts wheninput button 409 is pressed.

In one embodiment, brewing device 401 includes a temperature sensor 408that monitors the temperature of the liquid in liquid container 401 andprovides the temperature data to controller 420. This is optional and inone embodiment is used to enhance the extraction of flavor from thecoffee grounds in coffee pod 410. In one embodiment, sensor 408 sensestemperature and provides it to controller 320, which then scales the runtime for in-line pump 403 (e.g., scales the brew cycle) based on sensedwater temperature.

In one embodiment, brewing device 401 also includes a wirelesscommunication interface 430 coupled to controller 420 to performwireless communication with one or more other devices. In oneembodiment, the wireless communication is short-range wirelesscommunication (e.g., Bluetooth, infra-red, etc.), though the techniquesdescribed herein are not limited to using short-range wirelesscommunication. In one embodiment, the device communicating with brewingdevice 401 is a mobile device, such as mobile device 402. Mobile device402 may be a mobile phone (e.g., smartphone), tablet, laptop computer,personal digital assistant, Internet appliance, etc.

In one embodiment, the process performed by brewing device 401 to brewcoffee is as follows.

First, a user pairs brewing device 401 with their personal mobile device(e.g., mobile device 440). In one embodiment, this pairing is done usingshort-range wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth, infra-red, etc.)using wireless communication interface 440A and a wireless communicationinterface of mobile device 440.

Next, the user inserts coffee pod 410, which contains tightly packedcoffee grounds, into brew chamber 404, adds water of any temperature toliquid container 401, and selects the correct brew cycle via a graphicaluser interface (GUI) of the mobile device (e.g., mobile device 440A).

In response to the user selection, the selected brew cycle iscommunicated to controller 420 via wireless communication interface 430.In one embodiment, this also wakes brewing device 401 from a reducedpower consumption state (e.g., sleep mode, etc.). Then, the user pressesinput button 409 to start brew cycle.

In one embodiment, sensor 408 senses temperature and scales the run timefor in-line pump 403 (the brew cycle) based on sensed temperature of theliquid in liquid container 401. This is optional.

At this point, in one embodiment, controller 420 starts in-line pump 403and keeps it running for a predetermined amount of time. In oneembodiment, controller 420 determines the amount of time based onprogramming that is used to achieve a particular coffee brew. In oneembodiment, the time is also based on temperature information fromsensor 408 and/or user input from mobile device 440. In-line pump 403sucks water from liquid container 401 through injection valve 402, andinto brew chamber 404. In-line pump 403 forces the liquid received fromliquid container 401 through tightly tamped grounds in coffee pod 410.This causes a cold brew effect to occur. In one embodiment, in-line pump403 has 7 bar pump pressure to pressurize the liquid from liquidcontainer 401, thereby creating a pressure differential to cause theliquid to move under pressure through brewing chamber 404 and tunnels inthe coffee grounds within coffee pod 410. That is, in-line pump 403causes a pressure differential from the top of brewing chamber 404 tothe bottom of brewing chamber 404 as well as over each of the grounds ofcoffee in coffee pod 410. While this is occurring, screen filter 406prevents grounds in coffee pod 410 from expanding upwards as they bloom,maintaining the necessary constriction against the flow of water.

Brewed coffee passes from brew chamber 404 through intake valve 407 andback into liquid container 401, via return line 411, where it mixes withthe rest of the liquid in liquid container 401, if any.

In one embodiment, the brewing cycle is repeated from that point wherein-line pump 403 forces water from liquid container 401 through brewchamber 404 and the coffee grounds contained therein, and may continue,as long as in-line pump 403 is running. The cycles may continue until adesired brew is achieved.

More particularly, in one embodiment, when repeating the brewing cycle(e.g., turning on in-line pump 403), recirculation occurs in that thebeverage that has been produced as a result of the brewing process isfed back into brew chamber 404 to undergo the brewing process andinfusion again. In other words, the brewing process uses water during afirst brewing cycle to produce an infused beverage, such as coffee, andthe infused beverage produced by the first brewing cycle is used as atleast part of the input into the next brewing cycle. This process may berepeated for one or more additional brewing cycles, using the resultinginfused beverage output from the previous brewing cycle as at least partof an input for the next brewing cycle. In the case of coffee, thesesubsequent, or repeated, brewing cycles are performed using the samecoffee grounds that were used at the beginning of the brewing processduring the first brewing cycle of the brewing process. The cyclingcreates a continuous extraction process that controls the extractionlevel that can be achieved. Note that in one embodiment, it is desirableto use the least infused liquid in the subsequent brewing cycles toenhance the extraction process.

Thus, using multiple brewing cycles enhances the control of the waterinteraction or infusion with the coffee grinds. By using multiplebrewing cycles and a cold brew process, there is more granular controlover the strength and extraction of the brew than the prior art heatedcoffee brewing process. In one embodiment, the first cycle or pass isthe one in which the most infusion between the coffee grinds and thebrewing liquid (e.g., 70%), and each subsequent pass extracts less andless from the coffee grinds.

In one embodiment, the brewing process performs three brewing cycles(i.e., turning on in-line pump 403 three times) with the second andthird cycles using coffee brewed in the preceding brewing cycle as aninput into the next brewing cycle. The coffee brewed in the precedingbrewing cycle may only represent a portion of the liquid is this inputinto the brewing chamber for the next brewing cycle (i.e., the liquidinput into the brewing chamber for the next brewing cycle is acombination of the liquid that in in liquid container 401 feeding brewchamber 404, which may be water, and the coffee from produced during thelast brewing cycle or previous brewing cycles. In another embodiment,the brewing process performs four brewing cycles (i.e., turning onin-line pump 403 four times) with the second, third, and fourth timesusing coffee brewed in the preceding brewing cycle as an input into thenext brewing cycle. Note that the brewing process is not limited toperforming three or four brewing cycles, and in other embodiments, thebrewing process includes two brewing cycles or more than four brewingcycles.

Note that, in one embodiment, in-line pump 403 runs continuously duringa brew process. For longer brew processes, in-line pump 403 runs on athrottled frequency to prevent overheating, but it never starts andstops outside of the beginning and commencement of the brewing process,which is a continuous re-circulation loop that is infinitely granularand can stop at any point.

In one embodiment, after each brewing cycle, a user can taste the brewedcoffee and determine whether to run another brewing cycle. Thus, theability to have multiple brewing cycles provides control forcustomization while in flight with the brewing process.

In one embodiment, liquid container 401 is transparent to allow thecolor of the coffee to been seen. In an alternative embodiment, anoptical sensor is included in the brewing device to provide visualfeedback as the coffee being produced.

In one embodiment, the coffee grounds in pod 410 (or other container)include multiple sets of coffee grounds, with each set having adifferent size and shape. This allows for manipulating the flow rate andextraction efficiency when making the beverage with brewing device 400.For example, in one embodiment, the coffee grounds include two sets ofgrounds with different sizes and shapes. In such a case, the set withthe smaller coffee grounds provides most of the extraction during thefirst brewing cycle, while the set with the bigger coffee groundsprovides most of the extraction for the second and subsequent brewingcycles. While this example involves two sets different sized coffeegrounds, in another embodiment, there are three or more sets of coffeegrounds that have different sizes and shapes.

In one embodiment, the brew process is a temperature agnostic infusionbrewing process. That is, the brewing process is performed independentof temperature and is temperature agnostic in that regardless of thetemperature of the water that is used at the start of the brewingprocess, the brewing process may be controlled to obtain coffee that hasthe desired characteristics (e.g., the resulting coffee meets a desiredprofile). In one embodiment, the brewing process is a “cold” brew coffeethat infuses water with coffee flavor at room temperature. The term“cold brew” for purposes herein refers to brewing coffee using water ata temperature that has not been heated. In one embodiment, such water isat room temperature. In another embodiment, the water is taken from atap but is not heated in the brewing device. In other words, thetemperature of the water that is to be infused with coffee flavor is notmanipulated or controlled during the brewing process.

In one embodiment, the cycle time used for brewing is dependent on theinitial temperature of the water, where the cycle time refers to thetime in-line pump 403 is on. For example, if the room temperature wateris hotter because the environment is hotter or the water is receivedfrom a tap at a higher temperature than normal or room temperature, thebrewing process may use a shorter cycle time (i.e., in-line pump 403 ison for a short period of time) than if the temperature of the water wasat normal or room temperature. In one embodiment, a temperature sensorsuch as described above provides the temperature of the liquid in liquidcontainer 401 and controller 420 control the cycle time based ontemperature provided by the temperature sensor.

In one embodiment, the temperature of the water used for the firstbrewing cycle is heated to a predetermined temperature (e.g., 50° C.,etc.). In one embodiment, the heating of the water is performed by aheater (not shown) in or near chamber 401 that holds the water. In oneembodiment, such heating is performed by an induction heater (e.g., aninduction coil, etc.).

In one embodiment, the flow rate through the brewing cycle is controlledby controller 420. In one embodiment, controller 420 controls the flowrate using in-line pump 403. More specifically, liquid is pumped byin-line pump 403 to brewing chamber 404 during the brewing process undercontrol of controller 420 to control the extraction process. Forexample, by the amount of time in-line pump 403 is on, the pressuredifferential caused by the liquid entering brewing chamber 404 can bechanged, thereby causing different extraction levels.

Note that there are other parameters that may be controlled in thebrewing process to obtain the desired infusion besides those describedabove.

In one embodiment, the brewing process is digitally controlled. In oneembodiment, the digital control is through the software applicationexecuting on mobile device 440. In one embodiment, the softwareapplication that is executing on mobile device 440 takes a user throughan on-boarding flow with brewing device 401 when first being used. Theapplication provides an explanation on how to use the device throughgraphical user interface 440A, including such steps as loading a coffeepod into the brewing device and adding water to the chamber. The user isinstructed to run the brewing device for one cycle and then taste theresulting coffee. The user enters feedback into the applicationregarding the taste of the coffee through GUI 440A. The application mayinstruct the user to run one or more additional brewing cycles andrecords their feedback regarding the coffee that is produced. Based onthe user feedback, the application is able to create a taste profile forthe user. Once a taste profile for the user has been set up, the brewingprocess can be biased to create all subsequent brewed beveragesaccording to, and in-line with, the taste profile.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a brewing process forbrewing coffee using a portable device. In one embodiment, the processis by a brewing device, such as, for example, but not limited to, thebrewing device of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5, the process begins by storing water initially in aliquid container of the portable device (processing block 501) andholding coffee grounds in a brew chamber (processing block 502). In oneembodiment, the coffee grounds are in a pod or other enclosure that isput into the brewing chamber by a user.

Next, the brewing device communicates with a mobile (or other) device(e.g., smart phone, laptop, tablet, PDA, etc.) through a wirelessinterface, including optionally pairing with the mobile device(processing block 503). Note that the initially communication betweenthe brewing device and the mobile device may occur prior to placingwater into the liquid container and/or putting coffee grounds into thebrewing chamber.

Once in communication with the mobile device, the brewing devicereceives information from the mobile device specifying a particularcoffee brew process selected by the user to be performed by the brewingdevice (processing block 504). In one embodiment, the user selects thedesired coffee brew process using a GUI (e.g., GUI 420A of FIG. 4) onthe mobile device (e.g., mobile device 420 of FIG. 4).

In response to receiving the particular coffee brew process, the brewingdevice determines which coffee brewing process is desired and initiatesthe brewing process (processing block 505). In one embodiment, acontroller (e.g., controller 420 of FIG. 4) in the brewing devicereceives the information specifying a particular coffee brew process anddetermines the necessary operations (e.g., brew length, duty cycle,number of cycles, etc.) associated with the specified coffee brewprocess and controls the brewing device to perform the process.

In one embodiment, the process includes heating the liquid in the liquidcontainer to enhance the extraction process (that is caused byapplication of the pressure differential as discussed here) (processingblock 506).

With water in the liquid container and coffee grounds in the brewchamber, the process forces, using a pump, a liquid under pressurethrough the chamber of coffee grounds over multiple brewing cycles toextract coffee flavor from the coffee grounds into the liquid using atemperature agnostic infusing brewing process, including causing apressure differential over tunnels within the coffee grounds and overthe brew chamber with the liquid under pressure when the liquid isforced through the chamber each cycle of a plurality of cycles to causeextraction of the flavor into the liquid (processing block 507). In oneembodiment, the pump pulls water through the brew chamber to causeextraction of the flavor into the water each cycle. In anotherembodiment, the pump pushes water through the brew chamber to causeextraction of the flavor into the liquid each cycle. In one embodiment,the process includes powering the pump using a portable power source(e.g., a rechargeable battery). In one embodiment, the extraction isperformed without the need for heat. In one embodiment, the extractionoccurs in a vacuum.

In one embodiment, forcing water under pressure through the chamber ofcoffee grounds over multiple brewing cycles continuously operating thepump during the brew process. In one embodiment, each cycle of theplurality of cycles corresponds to a cycle time during which the pump isturned on to force the liquid through the coffee grounds. In oneembodiment, the cycle time is dependent on temperature of the liquidimmediately prior to running the temperature agnostic infusing brewingprocess. In one embodiment, the plurality of cycles includes threecycles.

In one embodiment, the process includes returning the liquid infusedduring each of the plurality of cycles to the liquid container via areturn line and an intake valve coupled to the liquid container(processing block 508). In one embodiment, the pump is in line betweenthe brew chamber and the return line.

At the point that the brew process has finished, in one embodiment, theinfused liquid may be heated (processing block 509). In one embodiment,this heating occurs to bring the infused liquid to a desired, preferred,or better drinking temperature.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of yet another embodiment of an infusingdevice. In this case, the process of infusion a liquid operates as theprocess described and above in conjunction with FIGS. 4-5 except theinfused liquid that is produced is output into an infused liquid chamber601 from where it may be consumed or otherwise output and thus is notreturned for liquid container 401. Therefore, the infusing apparatus ofFIG. 6 does not use recirculation as part of the infusing process.

An Alternative Embodiment of an Infusion Device

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an infusing device thatinfuses a liquid via a pressure differential created by swinging liquidwith an infusing material between two pressures (e.g., atmosphericpressure and vacuum pressure) one or more times. That is, in contrast toother infusing devices described above, the infusion device of FIG. 7does not create a pressure differential by forcing a liquid through aninfusing material using a pump.

Referring to FIG. 7, liquid that is to be infused (e.g., water, oil,etc.) in stored in liquid container 701 and is injected into infusionchamber 702 via injection value 703. Infusion chamber 702 includes aninfusion material 704 such as described above (e.g., coffee, tea,non-plant material, etc.). In one embodiment, infusion material 704 iscontained within packaging (e.g., a pod). In another embodiment,infusion material 704 is contained within an infuser (e.g., tea leafinfuser) or other mesh-like holder. A vacuum pump 705 is coupled toinfusion chamber 702 to create a vacuum in infusion chamber 702.

The infusion process is controlled by controller 710. In one embodiment,controller 710 causes vacuum pump 705 to repeated put infusion chamber702 under a vacuum so that infusion material 704 and the liquid to beinfused in infusion chamber 702 swing between atmospheric pressure andvacuum pressure one or more times. In one embodiment, controller 710causes the swing of pressure between atmospheric pressure and vacuumpressure in infusion chamber 702 multiple times according to a recipe tocause infusion of the liquid from infusion material 704 to a desiredamount. After infusion, the infused liquid is exhausted through exhaustvalue to infused liquid container 708 from which the liquid may beconsumed.

Note that the infusing apparatuses described herein may be incorporatedinto a flask or other portable drinking apparatus so that the infusionprocess and process of consuming or otherwise outputting of an infusedliquid occurs with a portable or mobile device. FIG. 8 is an example ofsuch a flask. Note that the techniques disclosed herein are not limitedto use with the flask of FIG. 8 and may be used with flasks of allshapes and sizes.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented interms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on databits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desiredresult. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physicalquantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take theform of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing theoperations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for therequired purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computerselectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored inthe computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computerreadable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type ofdisk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, andmagnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random accessmemories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any typeof media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupledto a computer system bus.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structurefor a variety of these systems will appear from the description below.In addition, the present invention is not described with reference toany particular programming language. It will be appreciated that avariety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachingsof the invention as described herein.

A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). For example, a machine-readable medium includes read onlymemory (“ROM”); random access memory (“RAM”); magnetic disk storagemedia; optical storage media; flash memory devices; etc.

Whereas many alterations and modifications of the present invention willno doubt become apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art afterhaving read the foregoing description, it is to be understood that anyparticular embodiment shown and described by way of illustration is inno way intended to be considered limiting. Therefore, references todetails of various embodiments are not intended to limit the scope ofthe claims which in themselves recite only those features regarded asessential to the invention.

We claim:
 1. A portable device for infusing a liquid with flavor frommaterial, the device comprising: a liquid container to store a liquid; abrew chamber to hold the material; and a pump to generate a pressuredifferential over tunnels within the material and over the brew chamber.2. The portable device defined in claim 1 wherein the pump is operableto generate the pressure differential by forcing the liquid through thechamber each cycle of a plurality of cycles to cause extraction of theflavor into the liquid.
 3. The portable device defined in claim 1further comprising a return line to return the liquid infused duringeach of the plurality of cycles to the liquid container via an intakevalve.
 4. The portable device defined in claim 3 wherein the pump is inline between the brew chamber and the return line.
 5. The portabledevice defined in claim 1 wherein the extraction is performed withoutthe need for heat.
 6. The portable device defined in claim 1 furthercomprising a heater to heat the liquid in the liquid container.
 7. Theportable device defined in claim 1 further comprising a portable powersource coupled to provide power to the pump.
 8. The portable devicedefined in claim 1 wherein the liquid comprises water.
 9. The portabledevice defined in claim 1 wherein the material comprises plant material.10. The portable device defined in claim 9 wherein the materialcomprises coffee or tea leaves.
 11. The portable device defined in claim1 wherein the pump is operable to generate the pressure differential byswinging the brew chamber between two pressures when the liquid andmaterial are in the brew chamber, one of the two pressures being vacuumpressure.
 12. A method for infusing a liquid with flavor from materialusing a portable device, the method comprising: storing a liquid in aliquid container of the portable device; holding the material in a brewchamber; and generating a pressure differential over tunnels within thematerial and over the brew chamber by forcing the liquid through thechamber a plurality of cycles to cause extraction of the flavor into theliquid each cycle.
 13. The method defined in claim 12 further comprisingreturning the liquid infused during each of the plurality of cycles tothe liquid container via a return line and an intake valve coupled tothe liquid container.
 14. The method defined in claim 13 wherein thepump is in line between the brew chamber and the return line.
 15. Themethod defined in claim 12 wherein the extraction is performed withoutthe need for heat.
 16. The method defined in claim 12 further comprisingheating the liquid in the liquid container to enhance the extractioncaused by application of the pressure differential.
 17. The methoddefined in claim 12 further comprising powering the pump using aportable power source.
 18. The method defined in claim 12 wherein theliquid comprises water.
 19. The method defined in claim 12 wherein thematerial comprises coffee or tea leaves.
 20. The method defined in claim11 wherein generating the pressure differential is performed by swingingthe brew chamber between two pressures when the liquid and material arein the brew chamber, one of the two pressures being vacuum pressure.